it is almost impossible to find your way around daniel c. müller’s thickets of forests and lush landscapes. in his work, rural idylls give way to inhospitable places, fleeting shadows and figures. his unlocatable views are chaotic and reveal macabre practices. the artist focuses on the abysses of human nature and the desire to escape everyday life.

having grown up in the mountains, nature holds a special place in müller’s artistic work. the artist questions representations of the environment as a place of refuge and promise of salvation. at the same time, he explores the potential of lonely worlds in which he plays out fantasies and threatening scenarios. in these dystopian-futuristic pictures, floral patterns and vine ornaments are reminiscent of past art styles.

in his complex visual worlds, müller experiments with the woodcut technique. central to book printing and the aesthetics of the german expressionists, the artist uses the technique as an outlet in an increasingly confusing reality.

he contrasts the rawness of the material with delicate lines and explores the versatility of the medium. contrary to traditional woodcuts, müller uses the negative of the printing plate to unfold situations whose furrows and discord testify to emotional exhaustion.

the exhibition features woodcuts painted with watercolors and monotype drawings on japanese kozo-paper. the common denominator of these different media and techniques is the drawn line, which is sometimes representational, sometimes freely interpreted. the line’s ambivalence conceals the transition from reality to fiction as well as that between the visible exterior and the psychological interior. thus, the exhibited works not only show forests and clearings on the pictorial level; they also form an overarching and uncanny landscape in the space, urging the viewer to look in all directions.

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text: beni muhl